What I’ve been reading

Time for a reading/listening update.

Each time I find a book I want to read I add it to my audible wishlist and check to see if the library has it. If they don't then I recommend it and hope they will buy it before I do through audible. This doesn't happen that often but sometimes it does. And in August 'they' bought 10 of the books I recommended so I have a lot of good ones that I am on the waitlist for or came up for me recently. My sister is a teacher and she said it is because school librarians are on a August financial year so they make sure to spend their whole budget. I was so excited to see all of these books that I don't have to buy from audible.

But I had so many come do at once that I was really listening a lot this month.

I have read a couple of Beatriz Williams books and they are never available through the library so I used my August credit it buy this book. It was about a young lady in the 60s that discovers she has an aunt she never heard about. She decides to learn about this aunt and figure out why no one in the family talks about her. It is a mystery but not a psychological thriller or anything like that. It wasn't my very favorite, but it was good.

I came across this through the library when I didn't have anything else to read. It is about a young Catholic Irish boy raised in poverty. It is sad and interesting. But I was left frustrated with the abrupt ending. It was also very long. But for a free book it was good.

This is one the library purchased. The summary says it is like Mr. and Mrs. Smith with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. I don't remember the movie really but yes overall it is about a couple that murders people. It was good all the way to the end.

Café by the Sea was a book I picked from the library when I had nothing else. It is a story of a young woman who is a paralegal and returns to her Scottish hometown for work. She hasn't been home in years and going home isn't easy. This was a cute little read and I think I will check out more Jenny Colgan in the future (when I have available spots on my waitlist)

I had The Lost Man on hold with the library for 6 months! 6 months! And you can only waitlist 5 at a time so that is a long time. But it finally came free and it was good. I read Jane Harper's The Dry a year or two ago and really liked it. This was another good one about a man found dead in the Australian outback. Now his brother is trying to figure out what really happened to him and help take care of his brother's family. I really liked this one!

This was an audible deal of the day. It's always the husband is the story of 3 friends since college that are a weird mix of personalities. 20 years later one is dead and it is a very tangled web to figure out who killed her where a lot of people have a motive. This was a good one.

I decided to try another Christina Baker Kline book after loving Orphan Train and not loving Sweet Water. Again it was slow and not that good. I say leave it.

A lot of bloggers love Nancy Thayer if you like Elin Hilderbrand. This is the story of a family who's grandmother owns a summer house on Nantucket Island. Every summer they all gather there. As the grandmother ages there is a lot of jealousy about who will get the house, drama between family members, and more. Not a very good description. But I liked this book.

This was another library read when I didn't have anything else to read. And this was actually the first two books in a long series (like 35 books or something). Each book was only about 6 hours and I really liked them...and then I went to read the next one and the library doesn't have it. Why have the first 2 and the last 6? Where are the other 25? So these were good if you like a series and whodunit. But make sure you can read or buy the whole series.

Another random library read- The story of a guy (a lawyer) being convicted of his wife's murder so he ask his retired lawyer friend/mentor to come out of retirement and help clear his name. Not the best summary but I don't want to give anything away. I really liked this one.  

Weekend recap

Saturday morning started with an alarm...that wasn't needed. Kyle picked up an overtime shift and after his alarm went off at 5 I couldn't fall back asleep. I dozed and tossed and turned. Finally at 6:30 I got up and pumped. Chloe had woken up in the night and nursed so she wasn't up at 5/5:30 like normal.

 

Then it was time to get everyone ready and out the door. We had a full morning

 

Oh that sweet smiling face just melts me. I love this picture of him.

 

 

Chloe girl has a full mouth and both hands full. #hereforthefood #getitfromhermomma

 

We were dressed and out the door by 8:00. First stop was new player baseball evaluations for Casen at 8:30. He is trying baseball again this season. He played one season when he was four.

 

 

Sun streak through my face but Clo is looking adorable.

 

They were running behind schedule so Cooper and Casen did a little warm up.

 

Cooper said 'you and Chloe look so cute. Can I take your picture?'

 

Casen did so good during evaluations. Not because he is an all star, but because he knew no one, followed instructions, and tried hard.

 

At one point I gave Cooper my phone and told him to take some pictures of Casen. He caught a cute video. And this gem.

 

Originally we were going to have an hour of downtime but that turned into 20 minutes. So the boys raced to the playground for a few minutes. There was a baby swing for Chloe but it was right in the sun. This didn't go well, but we tried.  And when I said 'don't drop her' Cooper said 'I would hurt myself first' #heisthesweetest

Next stop was Cooper's first tennis lesson. It was so dang hot but it didn't bother him and he did great. He told the instructor 'I haven't played tennis, but I play pickle ball with my Mimi'.  And then later said 'mom, pickle ball is paying off.'  He left the lesson excited for next week so that is good.  But he also said 'I am glad it is only one day a week' #myhomebody

 

We grabbed some fast food and went home for some down time. I had visions of a shower and taking a nap with Chloe. However Chloe was not in the napping mood. But we had a nice lazy afternoon.

 

Then I got brave and took all 3 kids to church by myself for Saturday evening mass. We don't normally do Saturday mass but the boys would be gone Sunday morning so it was the only one that would work. I was so tempted to skip but I said some prayers (asked family to pray) and off to church we went.

 

I'll be honest. It wasn't pretty. Casen knew my hands were full with Chloe and he was really testing me. He was moving up and down the pew, finding anything he could to play with, and being noisy. I took a lot of deep breaths, said lots of prayers, and apologized to the man behind us after church. You could tell it bothered him but he just said 'its okay. you have your hands full.' But you know what? We survived and I didn't cry...that has happened before...once or twice.

 

We drove through chickfila and went home to daddy.

 

This sweet girl is acting so big picking her own toys. And I just love a diaper baby.

 

Casen grabbed my phone and took about 50 pictures.

 

So then I made him take one with me. And he holds up the number 6 almost every time. And I said 'I know you are 6 but you don't have to do that' and he said 'no it's for Six Flags.'  I have no clue why.

Sunday morning had another alarm. I had time to have a quick 9 month photo session at home with Chloe.

Then Kyle dropped the boys off with Uncle Tyler and Aunt Katie for a fun day. This was their birthday present which I love. Experiences make for fun memories and the boys have plenty of toys. And my boys think it is the best thing. In fact Casen asked 'where is my suitcase' because he thought they were spending the night like they did last time.

 

They started with donuts

 

Then it was time for the waterpark! The boys had never been to NRH20 so they were excited to check it out.

 

 

They played for about 4 hours, grabbed lunch, and then we met them again.

 

They were so tired. I think they had fun.

 

 

And I didn't take any more pictures the rest of the day. The evening consisted of dinner, showers, electronic time, and we all crashed into bed after our busy weekend.

Life aint always beautiful

Here is a little more of our crazy life-

• Look back to my labor day weekend recap when Casen lost his wallet at Lowe's. I kept telling myself it is just $10 and maybe someone else needed it more than us. But he was disappointed and we were a hot mess looking for that wallet. When I went to customer service there were 6 people in line and I tried to decide if I could skip ahead a bit and just ask about the wallet.. I was sweating bullets and just 'over it'..  I am glad I walked back the other way and saw that wallet.  When he opened his wallet, it actually had over $20 in it!! He didn't just bring the $10 he needed.
• Thursday of last week I was already running late (thanks to bus schedule changes to 10 minutes earlier when they weren't supposed to change at all). As we were getting out of the house Casen lost his S*** about something he couldn't find and just 'had to have.' Then I grabbed Chloe from her high chair to put in her car seat and she was wet. She had found just the right angle of her sippy cup and was soaked. I strongly considered just taking her like that but decided she was too wet. I yelled at Coop because he was just standing around instead of being in the car. Then we raced to day care only to be stuck behind the slowest car ever to make the bus....the bus ended up being 4 minutes late.  Man I needed to hit the reset button after that morning. And I apologized to the kids for not being very nice.

Life ain't always beautiful. Sometimes it's just plain hard. I am thankful for faith and forgiveness. I pray a lot and say I'm sorry to God, my children, and my spouse often. 

Our week

Why do short weeks always feel like the longest?

Tuesday Chloe was looking adorable in another brother handmedown.

I got the kids off to school and then went back home to work for a couple of hours. Then I picked up Casen and took him to an appointment. The appointment got done early so when I got home I tackled our countertop and this nook that is my collector of mail, magazine, school notes, kid art and whatever else. It gets cleaned about 3 times a year.

Casen's teacher sent a note home and he has been nominated for the PAL program which means he gets to buddy up with a high school kid that wants to be a teacher and work with them. I can't remember now it is once a week or less often.

Wednesday morning this sweet was hanging out with me in another brother sleeper. (comparison pics coming soon)

Wednesday evening we had Chloe's 9 month pictures. I didn't want to have to leave work too early (because I have missed a lot of work lately with appointments for 3 kids and myself).  So my mom picked Chloe up from daycare and met me at the photo spot. My mom sent me this picture where she buckled Chloe in to one seat while she installed her car seat. She thinks she is so big. 

That evening Cooper was playing with Chloe and she was laughing so hard. They were having a great time. I just love the bond between my big and little. 

He gave her toys and said 'look, she's chillin'

And here is the middle with his Daddy watching Star Wars.  Casen has been wanting to make chocolate chip banana bread for a week so we were finally going to make it but he ditched me for daddy and star wars. I let them have their sweet moment and made the bread because it was time for those bananas.

Thursday we realized it is time to baby proof. She can't get the cabinet open by herself but she zeros in on it when I leave it open. 

Guilty!

Thursday when I got home I had a dress arrive from Amazon. We have a family wedding in October and I need a dress that is nursing friendly. This really means wrap dresses which aren't really my style. And I agreed after trying this on.

After dinner I headed outside with the kids to do some baseball refresh with Casen before baseball evaluations on Saturday. Cooper loved helping.

Chloe just hanging out. I can't leave her on a blanket now that she can crawl.

Friday morning we were all feeling sluggish..  Chloe is waking up once a night every night and it has left me exhausted. Luckily the boys sleep through it. 

I love these moments between my babies.

Dressed and ready for our Friday. No TCU game this weekend but still wearing our purple.

Getting pictures of this girl is quite challenging. I take a lot to get a good one and so many have blurry limbs.

Friday the second Amazon wrap dress arrived and it was better than the first but still just not my style. And probably one size too big so I am sending them both back. 

That is a lot of stuff and life in just 4 days.